New Nokia 8 Flagship Android Smartphone Officially Revealed By HMD Global

New Nokia 8 Flagship Android Smartphone Officially Revealed By HMD Global

Following long stretches of hypothesis, periods of reckoning and years of expectation, the Nokia name is coming back to a leader cell phone. Finnish start-up HMD Global has reported its most recent Android-fueled handset and the Nokia 8 is its most capable cell phone yet. 

The handset goes at a bargain amid September and games the SnapDragon 835 framework on chip, 4GB of RAM, 64 GB of interior internal storage, and microSD support for up to 256 GB outer storage.It will transport with a practically "pure" variant of Android 7.1.1, and HMD has proposed that this will be one of the soonest adopters of Android O.

Having heavily promoted that its Nokia handsets would run a pure version of Android, the ‘almost pure’ is sure to raise eyebrows, but it is necessary. Thanks to the use of a dual camera system on the rear of the handset - which also welcomes back Zeis to the smartphone world with the first Zeis lenses available on an Android device - new camera software has been developed to take account of the dial lens system and to offer greater manual control over the images taken.

Given Nokia’s previous success in the field of smartphone optics, maximizing the value of the camera and the utility of the software give HMD a unique selling point in the market place. The forward facing camera is the same module as the main camera on the rear - both offer 13 megapixel images but only the rear camera has optical image stabilising, while the second camera at the rear is a black and white camera which will be used to pick out more detail and capture more light to create the digital image - although the secondary camera does not offer any increased zoom.

Joining the improved camera software and hardware is the inclusion of OZO audio, allowing the Nokia 8 to capture immersive sound in such a way that sound played back through stereo speaks will allow the brain to place the sound in the correct location. For the more technically minded, this is HMD Global using binaural codecs. The advantage here is that the output still consists of a left and right audio channel so can be listened to on any media player.


The upshot here is that the Nokia 8 should be suited to high-end photography, video recording and live streaming, and clear audio recording. In other words, this is a handset that focuses on creators, giving them a tool that can capture more clarity and accuracy while on the move.

There are some notable question marks over the choices that HMD Global has made, one on design and one on pricing.

In terms of design, HMD has not followed this year’s trend of minimizing the bezels and allowing a curved screen to dominate the forward profile of the smartphone. Instead the bezels allow a traditional home button with fingerprint scanner and two physical navigation keys at the base of the device, and the inclusion of the larger thirteen megapixel selfie camera at the top of the device.

While the Nokia 8 is not as angular as the Nokia 6, with a shallow curve over the sides and rear of the device that HMD hopes will be a comfortable fit in the hand, Finish practicality and function has won out over fashion. If there is anything that makes this device feel like ‘a Nokia smartphone’ it’s this attitude.

Less easily answered is the price. Although the launch is (rightly) a global one and individual territorial pricing has not been set, the average selling price according to HMD will be 599 Euros.

That clearly marks the Nokia 8 as a flagship device. No doubt the hardware and performance of the handset merit the high price, but as the new Galaxy S8 can be found on sale in Germany for 560 Euros. If Samsung brings over the current $150 discount in the US to Europe ahead of the launch of the Note 8, then the Nokia 8 is going to have a tough challenge to justify its high SIM free price.

HMD will also have to contend with devices that are ‘flagship-minded’ and available at a lower price than the Nokia 8 - the OnePlus 5 springs to mind here but it’s not alone in offering flagship level specifications at a lower price point.

Source-Forbes,Nokia,HMD Global.